Alexander Ovechkin
Jean Beliveau
Stat by stat
Bars are scaled to the leader in this list.
The verdict
Alexander Ovechkin leads 3 of 4 categories. Our all-time ranking places Alexander Ovechkin at #7 and Jean Beliveau at #8.
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The case for Alexander Ovechkin
The greatest pure goal-scorer the game has ever seen, Alexander Ovechkin achieved the once-unthinkable on 6 April 2025, scoring his 895th career goal to pass Wayne Gretzky's supposedly untouchable record. Through the 2024-25 season the Washington Capitals captain sits at 897 goals and climbing. Drafted first overall in 2004, Ovi has won a record nine Rocket Richard Trophies as the league's top scorer, three Hart Trophies, and, silencing critics who doubted he could win, the 2018 Stanley Cup, where he was named playoff MVP after finally leading Washington to its first title. His signature is the one-timer from the left face-off circle, his office, unleashed on the power play with such force and accuracy that everyone knew it was coming and few could stop it. Combining a booming shot with a heavy, physical game rare in a superstar, Ovechkin has scored 50 or more goals in a season nine times. His longevity and single-minded pursuit of the record redefine what a scorer can accomplish.
The case for Jean Beliveau
Regal, powerful and impossibly graceful, Jean Beliveau captained the Montreal Canadiens through the most successful era any franchise has known. He won ten Stanley Cups as a player, more than anyone in history except his teammate Henri Richard, and lifted seven more as a club executive, putting his name on the Cup a record 17 times. Le Gros Bill scored 507 goals and 1,219 points, won two Hart Trophies and the inaugural Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP in 1965, and did it all with a dignity that made him one of hockey's most respected figures long after retirement. A big centre at a time when the position was being redefined, he combined a scorer's touch with a playmaker's vision and a leader's presence. Beliveau declined an offer to become Governor General of Canada, so revered was he. On the ice, his elegant stride and commanding two-way game set the template for the complete franchise centre that every organization has sought ever since.